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Compare this painting of Saint Bartholomew by Bartolomeo Vivarini in 1485 to the Portrait of a Boy. Saint Bartholomew, painted in 1485. Enlarge

This Portrait of a Boy came from a portrait gallery of a wealthy household in Venice, Italy. Earlier Renaissance portraits were usually painted in profile, with the subject's face turned to one side. The boy in this portrait is turned slightly toward us, in a position called a three-quarter pose. Instead of looking off to the side as a profile subject would, he looks directly at us, adding a human presence to the picture. Portraits like this one reflect the Renaissance idea that ordinary individuals were worthy subjects for works of art.

The sitter's black clothes and headdress were commonly worn by the wealthy in Venice at the end of the 15th century. The painting's dark background was also common in Venetian portraiture at the time. Bartolomeo Vivarini had a workshop just outside of Venice and this portrait, painted in his style, was probably made by one of his students. Compare this portrait to an earlier painting by Bartolomeo Vivarini and an assistant in the Renaissance Connection - Saint Bartholomew, painted in 1485.

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